Mario Dumont has been putting pressure on Quebec's traditional powerhouse parties, but now his political opponents and journalists are returning the favour.
For the second straight day on Monday, the leader of Action démocratique du Québec was forced to answer for controversial positions held by one of his party's candidates.
Dumont was asked Monday about a website run by Jean-François Plante, an ADQ candidate who doubts the need for pay equity and measures to combat violence against women.
"Pay equity, that's done and I'm not putting that in question," Dumont said while campaigning in Les Méchins in eastern Quebec.
"The ADQ does not make light of violence against women. Those are not comments that were made in the context of the election campaign. I dissociate myself totally from those words."
Dumont's repudiation of his candidate comes after polls have suggested the ADQ has been gaining on the Liberals and Parti Québécois.
On Sunday, Dumont gently rebuked ADQ candidate Claude Roy, an avid hunter and fisherman who is a staunch opponent of the federal gun registry.
The firearms law is popular in Quebec and the ADQ is in favour of gun control.
"Our adversaries are working hard to find everything our candidates might have said one day in their lives," Dumont said.
"I'll take care of the discipline of our candidates," Dumont said, adding that Liberal Leader Jean Charest should look after the cabinet ministers and candidates who have ignored important issues for four years.
Charest leads charge
Charest has led the charge on Dumont in recent days. While others have dug up past comments of ADQ candidates, Charest attacked Dumont, a former sovereigntist, for being vague on how Quebec should be more autonomous in Canada.
Campaigning Monday in the Saguenay region where several three-way races are expected when voters go to the polls March 26, Charest attacked Dumont for failing to put a price on his daily campaign promises.
"I think at this point in the campaign, the ADQ should give numbers," Charest said.
"Frankly, they're promising this, they're promising that. Enough. Let's have some numbers. It's the minimum Quebecers should be able to expect. What's he hiding?"
Campaigning in rural northwestern Quebec, PQ Leader André Boisclair promised forests would be better managed in a sovereign Quebec.
Related
| Party | Elected | Leading | Total | Vote Share |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| LIB | 48 | 0 | 48 | 33.08% |
| ADQ | 41 | 0 | 41 | 30.80% |
| PQ | 36 | 0 | 36 | 28.32% |
| QS | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3.65% |
| GRN | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3.89% |
| OTH | 0 | 0 | 0 | .26% |
| Last Update:March 27, 12:52:21 AM EDT | ||||
Quebec Votes 2007 Headlines »
- Que. Liberals take minority win with grain of salt
- Quebec Premier Jean Charest said he'll build bridges with the Parti Québécois and the Action Démocratique du Québec to ensure a stable minority government.
- Dumont will work with Quebec Premier Charest
- Quebec's new Opposition Leader Mario Dumont said he wants stability at the national assembly and pledged to work with the Liberal minority government on a case-by-case basis.
- Boisclair remains at helm after PQ finishes 3rd
- André Boisclair is staying on as leader of the Parti Québécois and vowed to help rebuild the fractured party after it suffered major losses in Monday's provincial election.
- Quebec election result 'good news' for Canada: PM
- Stephen Harper says voters in the Quebec election have used their ballots to reject calls for another referendum in a "great result" for Canada.
- Charest keeps seat as Liberals cling to power in Quebec
- Quebecers are waking up to a minority Liberal government — the first minority in the province in 130 years — and a new official Opposition.